The Battle of the Labyrinth pjato-4

by Rick Riordan

  He pressed forward. He was good. He’d never been at Camp Half-Blood, as far as I knew, but he’d been trained. He parried my strike and almost slammed me with his shield, but I jumped back. He slashed. I rolled to one side. We exchanged thrusts and parries, getting a fell for each other’s fighting style. I tried to keep on Ethan’s blind side, but it didn’t help much. He’d apparently been fighting with only one eye for a long time, because he was excellent at guarding his left.

  “Blood!” the monsters cried.

  My opponent glanced up at the stands. That was his weakness, I realized. He needed to impress them. I didn’t.

  He yelled an angry battle cry and charged me, but I parried his blade and backed away, letting him come after me.

  “Boo!” Antaeus said. “Stand and fight!”

  Ethan pressed me, but I had no trouble defending, even without a shield. He was dressed for defense—heavy armor and shield—which made it very tiring to play offense. I was a softer target, but I also was lighter and faster. The crowd went nuts, yelling complaints and throwing rocks. We’d been fighting for almost five minutes and there was no blood.

  Finally Ethan made his mistake. He tried to jab at my stomach, and I locked his sword hilt in mine and twisted. His sword dropped into the dirt. Before he could recover, I slammed the butt of my sword into his helmet and pushed him down. His heavy armor helped me more than him. He fell on his back, dazed and tired. I put the tip of my sword on his chest.

  “Get it over with,” Ethan groaned.

  I looked up at Antaeus. His red face was stony with displeasure, but he held up his hand and put it thumbs down.

  “Forget it.” I sheathed my sword.

  “Don’t be a fool,” Ethan groaned. “They’ll just kill us both.”

  I offered him my hand. Reluctantly, he took it. I helped him up.

  “No one dishonors the games!” Antaeus bellowed. “Your heads shall both be tributes to Poseidon!”

  I looked at Ethan. “When you see your chance, run.” Then I turned back to Antaeus. “Why don’t you fight me yourself? If you’ve got Dad’s favor, come down here and prove it!”

  The monsters grumbled in the stands. Antaeus looked around, and apparently realized he had no choice. He couldn’t say no without looking like a coward.

  “I am the greatest wrestler in the world, boy,” he warned. “I have been wrestling since the first pankration!”

  “Pankration?” I asked.

  “He means fighting to the death,” Ethan said. “No rules. No holds barred. It used to be an Olympic sport.”

  “Thanks for the tip,” I said.

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Rachel was watching me with wide eyes. Annabeth shook her head emphatically, the Laistrygonian’s hand still clamped over her mouth. I pointed my sword at Antaeus. “Winner takes all! I win, we all go free. You win, we die. Swear upon the River Styx.”

  Antaeus laughed. “This shouldn’t take long. I swear to your terms!”

  He leaped off the railing, into the arena.

  “Good luck,” Ethan told me. “You’ll need it.” Then he backed up quickly. Antaeus cracked his knuckles. He grinned, and I saw that even his teeth were etched in wave patterns, which must’ve made brushing after meals a real pain.

  “Weapons?” he asked.

  “I’ll stick with my sword. You?”

  He held up his huge hands and wiggled his fingers. “I don’t need anything else! Master Luke, you will referee this one.”

  Luke smiled down at me. “With pleasure.”

  Antaeus lunged. I rolled under his legs and stabbed him in the back of the thigh.

  “Argggh!” he yelled. But where blood should’ve come out, there was a spout of sand, like I’d busted the side of an hourglass. It spilled into the dirt floor, and the dirt collected around his leg, almost like a cast. When the dirt fell away, the wound was gone.

  He charged again. Fortunately I’d had some experience fighting giants. I dodged sideways this time and stabbed him under the arm. Riptide’s blade was buried to the hilt in his ribs. That was the good news. The bad news was that it was wrenched out of my hand when the giant turned, and I was thrown across the arena, weaponless.

  Antaeus bellowed in pain. I waited for him to disintegrate. No monster had ever withstood a direct hit from my sword like that. The celestial bronze blade had to be destroying his essence. But Antaeus groped for the hilt, pulled out the sword, and tossed it behind him. More snad poured from the wound, but again the earth rose up to cover him. Dirt coated his body all the way to his shoulders. As soon as the dirt spilled away, Antaeus was fine.

  “Now you see why I never lose, demigod!” Antaeus gloated. “Come here and let me crush you. I’ll make it quick!”

  Antaeus stood between me and my sword. Desperately, I glanced to either side, and I caught Annabeth’s eye.

  The earth, I thought. What had Annabeth been trying to tell me?

  Antaeus’s mother was Gaea the earth mother, the most ancient goddess of all. Antaeus’s father might have been Poseidon, but Gaea was keeping him alive. I couldn’t hurt him as long as he was touching the ground. I tried to skirt around him, but Antaeus anticipated my move. He blocked my path, chuckling. He was just toying with me now. He had me cornered. I looked up at the chains hanging from the ceiling, dangling the skulls of his enemies on hooks. Suddenly I had an idea.

  I feinted to the other side. Antaeus blocked me. The crowd jeered and screamed at Antaeus to finish me off, but he was having too much fun.

  “Puny boy,” he said. “Not a worthy son of the sea god!”

  I felt my pen return to my pocket, but Antaeus wouldn’t know about that. He would think riptide was still in the dirt behind him. He would think my goal was to get my sword. It wasn’t much of an advantage, but it was all I had.

  I charged straight ahead, crouching low so he would think I was going to roll between his legs again. While he was stooping, ready to catch me like a grounder, I jumped for all I was worth—kicking off his forearm, scrambling up his shoulder like it was a ladder, placing my shoe on his head. He did the natural thing. He straightened up indignantly and yelled “HEY!” I pushed off, using his force to catapult me toward the ceiling. I caught the top of a chain, and the skulls and hooks jangled beneath me. I wrapped my legs around the chain, just like I used to do at the ropes course in gym class. I drew Riptide and sawed off the chain next to me.

  “Come down here, coward!” Antaeus bellowed. He tried to grab me, but I was just out of reach. Hanging on for dear life, I yelled, “Come up and get me! Or are you too slow and fat?”

  He howled and made another grab for me. He caught a chain and tried to pull himself up. While he was struggling, I lowered my sawed-off chain, hook first. It took me two tries, but finally I snagged Antaeus’s loincloth.

  “WAAA!” he yelled. Quickly I slipped the free chain through the fastening link on my own chain, pulled it taut, and secured it the best I could. Antaeus tried to slip back to the ground, but his but stayed suspended by his loincloth. He had to hold on to the other chains with both hands to avoid getting flipped upside down. I prayed the loincloth and the chain would hold up for a few more seconds. While Antaeus cursed and flailed, I scrambled around the chains, swinging and cutting like I was some sort of crazed monkey. I made loops with hooks and metal links. I don’t know how I did it. My mom always said I have a gift for getting stuff tangled up. Plus I was desperate to save my friends. Anyway, within a couple of minutes the giant was suspended above the ground, hopelessly snarled in chains and hooks. I dropped to the floor, panting and sweaty. My hands were raw from climbing.

  “Get me down!” Antaeus demanded.

  “Free him!” Luke ordered. “He is our host!”

  I uncapped Riptide. “I’ll free him.”

  And I stabbed the giant in the stomach. He bellowed, and sand poured out, but he was too far up to touch the earth, and the dirt did not rise to hep him. Antaeus just dissolved, pouring out bit by bit,
until there was nothing left but empty swinging chains, a really big loincloth on a hook, and a bunch of grinning skulls dancing above me like they had finally had something to smile about.

  “Jackson!” Luke yelled. “I should have killed you long ago!”

  “You tired,” I reminded him. “Let us go, Luke. We had a sworn agreement with Antaeus. I’m the winner.”

  He did just what I expected. He said, “Antaeus is dead. His oath dies with him. But since I’m feeling merciful today, I’ll have you killed quickly.”

  He pointed at Annabeth. “Spare the girl.” His voice quavered just a little.

  “I would speak to her before—before our great triumph.”

  Every monster in the audience drew a weapon or extended its claws. We were trapped. Hopelessly outnumbered.

  Then I felt something in my pocket—a freezing sensation, growing colder and colder. The dog whistle. My fingers closed around it. For days I’d avoided using Quintus’s gift. It had to be a trap. But now…I had no choice. I took it out of my pocket and blew. It made no audible sound as I shattered into shards of ice, melting in my hand.

  Luke laughed. “What was that supposed to do?”

  From behind me came a surprised yelp. The Laistrygonian giant who’d been guarding Annabeth flew past me and smashed into the wall.

  “AROOOOF”

  Kelli the empousa screamed as a five-hundred-pound black mastiff picked her up like a chew toy and tossed her through the air, straight into Luke’s lap. Mrs. O’Leary snarled, and the two dracaenae guards backed away. For a moment the monsters in the audience were caught completely by surprise.

  “Let’s go!” I yelled at my friends. “Heel, Mrs. O’Leary!”

  “The far exit!” Rachel cried. “That’s the right way!”

  Ethan Nakamura took his cue. Together we raced across the arena and out the far exit, Mrs. O’Leary right behind us. As we ran, I could hear the disorganized sounds of an entire army trying to jump out of the stands and follow us.

  FIFTEEN

  WE STEAL SOME SLIGHTLY USED WINGS

  “This way!” Rachel yelled.

  “Why should we follow you?” Annabeth demanded. “You led us straight into that death trap!”

  “It was the way you needed to go,” Rachel said. “And so is this. Come on!”

  Annabeth didn’t look happy about it, but she ran along with the rest of us. Rachel seemed to know exactly where she was going. She whipped around corners and didn’t even hesitate at crossroads. Once she said, “Duck!” and we all crouched as a huge axe swung over our heads. Then we kept going as if nothing had happened.

  I lost track of how many turns we made. We didn’t stop to rest until we came to a room the size of a gymnasium with old marble columns holding up the roof. I stood at the doorway, listening for sounds of pursuit, but I heard nothing. Apparently we’d lost Luke and his minions in the maze. Then I realized something else: Mrs. O’Leary was gone. I didn’t know when she’d disappeared. I didn’t know of she’d gotten lost or been overrun by monsters or what. My heart turned to lead. She’d saved our lives, and I hadn’t even waited to make sure she was following us.

  Ethan collapsed on the floor. “You people are crazy.” He pulled off his helmet. His face gleamed with sweat.

  Annabeth gasped. “I remember you! You were one of the undetermined kids in the Hermes cabin, years ago.”

  He glared at her. “Yeah, and you’re Annabeth. I remember.”

  “What—what happened to your eye?”

  Ethan looked away, and I got the feeling that was one subject he would not discuss.

  “You must be the half-blood from my dream,” I said. “The one Luke’s people cornered. It wasn’t Nico after all.”

  “Who’s Nico?”

  “Never mind,” Annabeth said quickly. “Why were you trying to join up with the wrong side?”

  Ethan sneered. “There’s no right side. The gods never cared about us. Why shouldn’t I—”

  “Sign up with an army that makes you fight to the death for entertainment?” Annabeth said. “Gee, I wonder.”

  Ethan struggled to his feet. “I’m not going to argue with you. Thanks for the help, but I’m out of here.”

  “We’re going after Daedalus,” I said. “Come with us. Once we get through, you’d be welcome back at camp.”

  “You really are crazy if you think Daedalus will help you.”

  “He has to,” Annabeht said. “We’ll make him listen.”

  Ethan snorted. “Yeah, well. Good luck with that.”

  I grabbed his arm. “You’re just going to head off alone into the maze?

  That’s suicide.”

  He looked at me with barely controlled anger. His eye patch was frayed around the edges and the black cloth was faded, like he’d been wearing it a long, long time. “You shouldn’t have spared me, Jackson. Mercy has no place in this war.”

  Then he ran off into the darkness, back the way we’d come.

  * * *

  Annabeth, Rachel, and I were so exhausted we made camp right there in the huge room. I found some scrap wood and we started a fire. Shadows danced off the columns rising around us like trees.

  “Something was wrong with Luke,” Annabeth muttered, poking at the fire with her knife. “Did you notice the way he was acting?”

  “He looked pretty pleased to me,” I said. “Like he’d spent a nice day torturing heroes.”

  “That’s not true! There was something wrong with him. He looked…nervous. He told his monsters to spare me. He wanted to tell me something.”

  “Probably, ‘Hi, Annabeth! Sit here with me and watch while I tear your friends apart. It’ll be fun!’”

  “You’re impossible,” Annabeth grumbled. She sheathed her dagger and looked at Rachel. “So which way now, Sacagawea?”

  Rachel didn’t respond right away. She’d become quieter since the arena. Now, whenever Annabeth made a sarcastic comment, Rachel hardly bothered to answer. She’d burned the tip of a stick in the fire and was using it to draw ash figures on the floor, images of the monsters we’d seen. With a few strokes, she caught the likeness of a dracaena perfectly.

  “We’ll follow the path,” she said. “The brightness on the floor.”

  “The brightness that led us straight into a trap?” Annabeth asked.

  “Lay off her, Annabeth,” I said. “She’s doing the best she can.”

  Annabeth stood. “The fire’s getting low. I’ll go look for some more scraps while you guys talk strategy.” And she marched off into the shadows. Rachel drew another figure with her stick—an ashy Antaeus dangling from his chains.

  “Annabeth’s usually not like this,” I told her. “I don’t know what her problem is.”

  Rachel raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure you don’t know?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Boys,” she muttered. “Totally blind.”

  “Hey, don’t you get on my case, too! Look, I’m sorry I got you involved in this.”

  “No, you were right,” she said. “I can see the path. I can’t explain it, but it’s really clear.” She pointed toward the other end of the room, into the darkness. “The workshop is that way. The heart of the maze. We’re very close now. I don’t know why the path led through that arena. I—I’m sorry about that. I thought you were going to die.”

  She sounded like she was close to crying.

  “Hey, I’m usually about to die,” I promised. “Don’t feel bad.”

  She studied my face. “So you do this every summer? Fight monsters?

  Save the world? Don’t you ever get to do just, you know, normal stuff?”

  I’d never really thought about it like that. The last time I’d had something like a normal life had been…well, never. “Half-bloods get used to it, I guess. Or maybe not used to it, but…” I shifted uncomfortably. “What about you?

  What do you do normally?”

  Rachel shrugged. “I paint. I read a lot.”

  Okay, I
thought. So far we are scoring a zero on the similarities chart.

  “What about your family?”

  I could sense her mental shields going up, like this was not a safe subject.

  “Oh…they’re just, you know, family.”

  “You said they wouldn’t notice if you were gone.”

  She set down her drawing stick. “Wow, I’m really tired. I may sleep for a while, okay?”

  “Oh, sure. Sorry if…”

  But Rachel was already curling up, using her backpack as a pillow. She closed her eyes and lay very still, but I got the feeling she wasn’t really asleep.

  A few minutes later, Annabeth came back. She tossed some more sticks on the fire. She looked at Rachel, then at me.

  “I’ll take first watch,” she said. “You should sleep, too.”

  “You don’t have to act like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like…never mind.” I lay down, feeling miserable. I was so tired I fell asleep as soon as my eyes closed.

  * * *

  In my dreams I heard laughter. Cold, harsh laughter, like knives being sharpened.

  I was standing at the edge of a pit in the depths of Tartarus. Below me the darkness seethed like inky soup.

  “So close to your own destruction, little hero,” the voice of Kronos chided.

  “And still you are blind.”

  The voice was different than it had been before. It seemed almost physical now, as if it were speaking from a real body instead of…whatever he’d been in his chopped-up condition.

  “I have much to thank you for,” Kronos said. “You have assured my rise.”

  The shadows in the cavern became deeper and heavier. I tried to back away from the edge of the pit, but it was like swimming through oil. Time slowed down. My breathing almost stopped.

  “A favor,” Kronos said. “The Titan lord always pays his debts. Perhaps a glimpse of the friends you abandoned…”

  The darkness rippled around me, and I was in a different cave.

  “Hurry!” Tyson said. He came barreling into the room. Grover stumbled along behind him. There was a rumbling in the corridor they’d come from, and the head of an enormous snake burst into the cave. I mean, this thing was so big its body barely fit through the tunnel. Its scales were coppery. Its head was diamond-shaped like a rattler, and its yellow eyes glowed with hatred. When it opened its mouth, its fangs were as tall as Tyson. It lashed at Grover, but Grover scampered out of the way. The snake got a mouthful of dirt. Tyson picked up a boulder and threw it at the monster, smacking it between the eyes, but the snake just recoiled and hissed.